Communication devices that are connected to a packet-switched network, for example the internet, and registered with an internet service provider (ISP) for internet communication, and which
(i) are designed for different services, for example Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), messaging, e-mailing, and/or e-mail notification, and
(ii) can be embodied as, for example, a DECT mobile handset of a DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) telephone having a base station connected both to a packet-switched and to a circuit-switched network, as a WLAN mobile handset of a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) telephone having a WLAN Access Point connected both to a packet-switched and to a circuit-switched network, or as a set-top box (STB) and/or a router require, in contrast to classical communication devices—for instance PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) telephones—connected to the circuit-switched network a multiplicity of provider-specific settings that prior to use have to be entered manually via, for example, a web server, or must have been preconfigured in the device. That hugely restricts the marketing of retail devices that are independent of the internet service provider because a simple commissioning of such a device is not possible. Moreover, provider-specific configuration that can be efficiently altered is only laboriously possible with existing methods.
Whereas provider-specific variants of communication devices are preconfigured or remotely configured via a remote management system (for example a system conforming to the “TR 069” specification), retail devices have to be configured manually. The configuration generally has to be performed again if parameters are changed or a different service provider is chosen. A provider-specific configuration variant furthermore frequently has to be set statically or by replacing the device software.